Robin May

Couldn't have said it better myself. Oh, wait a minute...

English Roundabouts   They’re making the roundabouts great again by painting the flag of St George to keep our circular road systems safe from the dark, satanic hordes. What do they want? Patriotic junctions! When do they want them? Before it’s too late. Good old-fashioned English roundabouts, as decreed by Alfred the Great. Behold the sacred intersection, this blessed plot, this septic isle. English roundabouts for English people, draped in red and white and bile. St George is cross, as well he may be – whipped-up hate, he’s seen before. Give way to the right, the road signs rage, and the far right most of all. Brian Bilston

Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.

😱 Why Do We Fear?

Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear

Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it?

*also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social

One week left to apply, folks! And I promise that I'm not spending my final month in post making all sorts of daft decisions that you'll have to unravel if you get the job...! 😉

Medical Mycology Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases!

🖥️ The MOOC “Medical Mycology” is open for registration!   
👉 bit.ly/medical-myco...
🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!

Just in case Pinewood Studies are reading this, then I'm more than happy to discuss my consultancy fee with you (I'm thinking maybe a hand-me-down Bond dinner suit - without bullet holes - and a quick spin in the Aston Martin?)

This is the job I've been doing for the last five years and it is FANTASTIC. So if your finger is hovering uncertainly over the 'apply now' button, then stop hesitating and press it!
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...

Great to be able to talk about the impact of climate change on infections at today's 'Leave No One Behind' schools' conference with @mulberrytrust.bsky.social @greshamcollege.bsky.social and @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Yet another reason (as if we needed one) to get to #netzero ASAP.

Excellent talk from @robinmay9.bsky.social about his life, David Attenborough being his inspo and the Food Standards Agency 🦠🥪

UK takes the lead on ERC Advanced Grant wins | Russell Group New data shows the UK has won by far the largest share of ERC grants, one of the most prestigious and competitive funding schemes in the EU

This is a very nice testament to the strength of UK science, not to mention the importance of international collaboration - congratulations awardees, one and all! www.russellgroup.ac.uk/news/uk-take...

Woah, they've also got a tool where you can listen to the image: skyviewer.app/skysynth

125 years of preparation, and @unibirmingham.bsky.social is looking at its most spectacular... #UoB125

YouTube video by Gresham College De-Extinction or Design? Rethinking the ‘Return’ of the Dire Wolf - Robin May

A @greshamcollege.bsky.social short on Rethinking the 'reincarnation' of Dire Wolves. Or rather, why they aren't Dire Wolves at all (sorry to disappoint all you Game of Thrones fans out there):
youtu.be/Scesbs7GT6U?...

In our latest blog post we catch up with #BlavatnikAwards Life Sciences Laureate @stewartlab.bsky.social, who recently attended the Blavatnik Awards ceremony and public symposium and gave talks about his preventive health work on preterm infant microbiomes 🫄👶 lister-institute.org.uk/congratulati...

Tickets open: The Future of Immunity

gres.hm/future-immunity

Our understanding of our immune system is vastly different from 50 years ago, w/ modern therapies that would have once seemed like science fiction.

@robinmay9.bsky.social asks: what next for #immunity?

@imibirmingham.bsky.social

Every time I hear someone playing the free piano at Euston Station, blissfully unaware of the small crowd of commuters tapping their feet in time behind them, it restores my faith in the future of civilisation...

Today at 6pm: Do Computers Get Sick? How Humans and Computers Fight Viruses

Watch via: gres.hm/computer-virus

Profs @robinmay9.bsky.social & @cyberbaines.bsky.social ask whether there are similarities between human & #computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?

“Science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party.”

EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.

In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.

How do vaccines work?

Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social explains how #vaccination changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history...

Watch full lecture: gres.hm/how-vaccines

#immunology #vaccine

Phylogenetic analysis of pathogenic algae reveals lineage-dependent patterns of phagocytosis | mBio Protothecosis is a rare algal infection caused by members of the genus Prototheca, which is comprised of unusual non-photosynthetic algae. Six pathogenic species have been identified so far that can c...

Delighted to see this one published in @asm.org mBio today. It's possibly the longest-running project we've ever had in the lab, all started by the throwaway question, "Are there any plants that are pathogens of animals...?"
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Fun Kids Science Weekly | Food Standards Agency Did you hear our Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Robin May talking about Cell Cultivated Products on the latest Fun Kids Science Weekly Podcast? If you have any young, budding scientists who would...

Definitely a career highlight thus far...😉

www.linkedin.com/posts/food-s...

This mucus-loving gut bacteria is important for health – here’s how to keep it happy Akkermansia muciniphila is a friendly bacteria which is linked to good immune function.

A mucus-eating microbe might be one of the best friends your gut has 🦠

Former Springboard awardee @lucyicm.bsky.social explores how Akkermansia muciniphila supports our immune system, and why that matters for disease prevention ❤️‍🩹

👇 Read more via @uk.theconversation.com

This is quite the clutch of Lister Fellows at @unibirmingham.bsky.social! lister-institute.org.uk/shining-a-li...

Our antibiotics are under threat.

Join Andi Biotic’s mission to #KeepAntibioticsWorking.

Share our video and blog post with your network: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/07/w...

This is going to be a fun one (even more so than usual!) because it's a double act between me and @cyberbaines.bsky.social. Easy questions to me, please, and all tricky ones to Vic! 😉

Happy birthday @foodgov.bsky.social - 25 years young yesterday! That's a quarter of a century keeping food safe, with a huge amount of underpinning science on everything from 'traffic light' nutrition labels to catching food fraudsters: science.food.gov.uk

Image shows five speakers four of which are female and one male from the Institute of Microbiology and Infection speaking today the Microbiology Society Annual Conference

We are in Liverpool this week at the @microbiologysociety.org Annual Conference
our IMI line up today looks like this .. #Microbio25

Delighted to have been a (very small!) part of this, along with so many great colleagues from the world of mycology!

How Do Vaccines Work? Vaccination has changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history – not to mention its critical role in ending the Covid-19 ...

It's the @britsocimm.bsky.social Vaccine Engagement Day tomorrow and by amazing coincidence I'll be giving a @greshamcollege.bsky.social lecture on - you've guessed it - vaccines! Sign-up to watch free in person or online here: www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/how...

Tomorrow is Vaccine Engagement Day! 🚀

Get involved in this important initiative which aims to empower informed decisions and spread positivity about vaccines.

👉 Check out our webpage to find out how to participate: bit.ly/3Rasp6s

#CelebrateVaccines